As a child, Esperanza wishes to leave her home on Mango Street so desperately; she is determined to vacate and feels no moral obligation to her community. Esperanza begins to get to know the individuals in her community and realizes that they all deal with their own personal problems. Esperanza recognizes that she is part of a community that is plagued by poverty. Esperanza’s reality is harsh, not only does she live in a rundown neighborhood, but she is a young girl coming of age who wants to find herself in a place she does not want to belong to. She is not fond of her name and would like to baptize herself under another name like Zeze the X in her effort to assimilate. Little does she know that she stands for hope in her community, and she …show more content…
However, this house belonged to them, they were no longer tenants, but owners. Esperanza dreamed of having her own home and this house was not in her dreams. This house was located in a poverty stricken neighborhood in Chicago. Her neighborhood was segregated and consisted of only of Latinos. There were also many gangs who lived in the neighborhood as there are in many poor areas. When poverty is present, many more problems will arise in effect. These issues are found in the homes of the families who live in this bad area and do not earn enough to live a good life. In the eyes of Esperanza, living a good life would entail living in a home that you are not ashamed of and can be proud of. She wants to be able to wear fancy shoes for her special events not the ordinary shoes that she needs to wear all year long because that is what her family can afford. When one is born into poverty, it is expected by society that you will remian in poverty, if you are able to become succesfull, you will first have to go through many …show more content…
Her immaturity was demonstrated when she befriended Sally, whom she believed knew all about attracting the opposite sex. Esperanza tried to save Sally from the boys who took her keys and asked for kisses in exchange. Esperanza did not realize Sally did not want to be saved. Esperanza was humiliated and believed Sally would do the same for her. Esperanza believed women helped one another. As Esperanza begins to mature, she is now curious of boys and her sexuality. She befriends Lucy and Rachel, they put their physical beauty to work by strutting their stuff around the neighborhood in high heels. However, they do not receive the attention they expected. Instead a homeless man starts to talk to Rachel and asks her for a kiss in exchange for money. This is when Esperanza realizes her patriarchal society does not empower women it oppresses them. She realizes she no longer wants to be beautiful if it means attracting negative attention. The homeless man demonstrates that even if he is homeless, he is still a man who can make them feel worthless. Esperanza recognizes that she wants to be a woman of substance, not eye